Structural Optical and magnetic properties of undoped and Mn-doped ZnO nanostructures

Mn doped ZnO nanostructures were grown on Si substrates using carbo-thermal reduction of MnCO3 and ZnO powders. Morphological, optical and magnetic behaviour studies of as-grown nanostructures were carried out using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), micro-Raman spectroscopy, photoluminescence (PL) measurements, X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) techniques. Mn doping was found to affect the morphology and optical properties of ZnO nanostructures. XPS confirmed the presence of Mn in ZnO nanostructures. FESEM studies revealed the formation of denser ZnO nanostructures with Mn incorporation. Mn doped ZnO nanostructures were found to exhibit magnetic hysteresis at room temperature. The significant changes in the properties of ZnO nanostructures after Mn doping are discussed in detail. The magnetic hysteresis confirms the room-temperature ferromagnetism of ZnO:Mn nanostructures, which has a great potential application for spintronics devices